NRF51822 programming via uart

[kalreg]

Hello. I bought a few days ago 3 NRF51822 after a lot of reading about it. Unfortunatelly i can not upload any code to it or any firware. I do not have motherboard yet (NRF51822 DK) so i tried to upload software via USB to UART converter (FTDI). I found that pins 8, 9, 10 and 11 on are responsible for comunication via UART so i soldered it and wired to uart: 8 (NRF) - CTS (USB UART Conv) 9 - RXD 10 - RTS 11 - TXD vdd - power 3.3v gnd - gnd

USB to UART Converter has been recognized in system on COM2. I also installed JLink for Windows, and gcc-arm-none-eabi-6-2-2016.

Then i tried start from console: arm-none-eabi-gdb -ex "target extended-remote \.\com2" -ex "monitor swdp_scan" -ex "attach 1"

Unfortunately it doesnt find NRF.

What am I doing wrong? There is a lot of documentation for NRF51822 but none treats step by step how to upload firmware to chip via UART without motrherboard or even if it is possible.

I want to use NRF51822 with Arduino IDE so i want to upload code into the cheap so it can work by itself. Do I need to upload firmware also or just code?

Please advice. Kalreg.

[Nguyen Hoan Hoang]

The nRF5x chip does not have a default bootloader. You need to use a debug jtag such as the Segger Jlink or the IDAP-Link to program the device. You will also need the Nordic SDK for development. The programming is more advanced than Arduino. You can use Eclipse & GCC as development environment. It's a steep learning curve. I hope the links help you to get more insights.

[kalreg]

Seems there is a lot of work for me. So if i understand correctly i nned to buy NRF51288 DK motherboard, and using it upload hex file and then start programming a board? Is devzone.nordicsemi.com/.../ tutorial covering everything for me?

I see that there is keil used - i couldnt download it yet but is it free? Will eclipse do same thing?

[Nguyen Hoan Hoang]

Yep, there are lots of learning to do. Keil is a $5K license. It is free only for 32KB of code. Eclipse is OpenSource totally free development environment without limits.

[bjorn-spockeli]

I recommend buying a nRF51 DK if you're new to Nordic. The nRF51 DK has a On-Board JLink programmer so you only need to connect it to your computer via USB in order to program it. You can also use the nRF51 DK to program external nRF51/52s, e.g. custom boards or third-party modules for for prototyping. As Nguyen Hoan Hoang already has mentioned you have to use Keil or Eclipse+GCC or Segger Embedded Studio in order write and compile code for the nRF51.